


Once The Graves Are Filled

by Songbird_wings



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt CT-7567 | Rex, Mention of Seizure, Post-Victory and Death, Prompt Fill, Whump, descriptions of brain injury, someone give Ahsoka a hug, someone give Rex a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:07:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27906475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Songbird_wings/pseuds/Songbird_wings
Summary: Rex's injury's finally catch up to him after his and Ahsoka's narrow escape from Order 66.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 62





	Once The Graves Are Filled

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Rex develops a brain bleed after the events of Victory and Death. Seriously, the guy gets, like, four head injuries in the span of an hour.
> 
> This was written for the above prompt given to me by @carlycrays on Tumblr! 
> 
> This is NOT a ship-fic
> 
> Enjoy :)

His wound was throbbing, but he dug anyway. Grave after grave. Brother after brother. She was quiet. He didn’t say anything to her, but they began scavenging for bodies without words being exchanged between them. The shovel piled up the dirt next to him and she walked over, lowering another body,  _ brother _ , into the ground with the Force. Then he put the dirt back. Scoop after scoop. She went off into the wreckage again, this time out of his sight. He finished filling in the grave and then stepped a few feet and began another hole, for another body. 

“Rex…” Her voice sounded strange after hours of silent understanding between them. She walked out of the wreckage, clutching something in her hands. He sticks the shovel in the ground and heads towards her. With every step he could see her more clearly, and soon he could make out what she was holding.  _ Jesse's Helmet. _

It was coated in soot and dirt, and scratches covered the visor. But the large gear of the Republic stood out. Rex wanted to puke. 

“I couldn’t find...him.” Ahsoka whispered, handing Rex the helmet. He took it with shaky hands, and suddenly years of memories flashed in front of his eyes in just a moment. He stared into the black visor, his reflection looking back at him. His own face. His brother's face.

He felt his throat tighten and his eyes blinked rapidly. He couldn’t breath. 

_ Why couldn’t he breath? _

“Rex?” Ahsoka sounded far away, even though he knew she was just in front of him. Haze clung to the sides of his vision and the pain from his head wound radiated through his skull. He wasn’t panicking, he knew what that felt like. This was something else. He felt dizzy where he stood as if his legs were made of sand, and fragile planes of glass held him upright. He tried to say something but he only stared at the hazy image of himself in Jesse's visor. She called his name again. He thinks she even put a hand on his shoulder, trying to steady him, but nothing felt normal anymore. Then his stomach flipped and the rancid taste of acid rushed up his throat, appearing in his mouth mixing with the metallic taste of blood from earlier. He finally collapsed, the glass breaking and he fell to his knees, letting the contents of his stomach come back up on the ground before him. Through the haze, he could see Ahsoka jump back a few feet. 

“Sick… leave… head...hurts.” Was what Rex managed to say, but his tongue felt like lead in his mouth. He could  _ hear _ Ahsoka speaking, but he couldn’t understand what she was saying. He lifted his head, or at least he tried to, but the change in movement shot a white pain from his neck to the top of his skull. He cried out, finally letting go of the helmet and clutching his hands to the sides of his heads as if he could squeeze the sensation out. He fell to his side and closed his eyes, embracing the blackness, shielding his sight from the brightness from the planet. 

He felt still for a moment, his muscles settling but Ahsoka was shouting his name now. He didn’t know what for. He was fine. He felt fine. He was going to be fine. 

<<<>>>

The scent of smoke hit him first as his eyes reopened. They took awhile to adjust and in that time, the headache set back in. It wasn’t as bad as before, maybe now just an extreme hangover. It was dark, he could tell that and he was lying on his back, head propped up by a backpack. 

Slowly, the clone turned his head towards the glowing light of the fire which Ahsoka must’ve started. It was warm, comforting. His body ached like never before. Rex tried not to groan as he lifted his heavy arm and felt around his head, another bandage.

“Don’t move.” Her voice came from the other side of the flames. She got up and came to his side. He tried to smile. From the look in her eyes, she needed one. 

“Hey.” His throat was dry and his tongue was sticky. “What happened?” Ahsoka sat next to him now, crossing her legs. He looked her over. She had bandaged her wound in her arm, but thankfully she seemed to be alright. At least physically.

“Your brain was bleeding internally. You had a seizure, Rex.” Ahsoka explains to him. This doesn't surprise him. “I managed to stop it.” She said again. “With what medical supplies I could find, and-” She didn’t want to say it but Rex understood. After fitting all the puzzle pieces together about their current events, he understood why she was reluctant to talk about the Force. Or even use it. 

“Thank you.” He tells her. She offers him a half smile. Then they were quiet again, listening only to the crackle of the fire and watching the smoke disappear into the black sky. There was so much to talk about, but nothing that needed to be said. Rex settled on that. The wounds didn’t need to be picked at while they were still fresh.

“I can’t… sense him.  _ Any _ of them.” 

Maybe the wound was not yet ready to heal over. 

“Ahsoka…” 

“It’s cold, and dark. There’s no response.” He didn’t know what to say. His head still pulsed from his injuries so he decided on saying nothing. He only lifted his hand and wrapped it around hers. Before him, the young woman became her childish, padawan self. Full of enthusiasm and drive. But he blinked and she was gone. Rex felt her place her other hand atop his and she lowered her head. 

“We’ll need to split up.” She chokes out. He felt dizzy again. He knew that was their best option. Neither of them had any certainty of what the Galaxy beyond this moon looked like now. 

“I know.” He responds, raspy and hoarse. “In the morning. Once the graves are filled.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, if you liked it drop a comment below they make my day and inspire me to write more! :)
> 
> You can find more of my Star Wars content on Tumblr @Songbird-wings


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